Body-weight-distributing construction for shoes and the like



June 23, 42. W BURNS 2,287,341

BODY-WEIGHT-DISTRIBUTING CONSTRUCTION FOR SHOES .'"ND'IHELLIKE FiledJune 2, 1941 A Trag/Vgn Patented 'June 23,

UNITED STATES PATENT oEElcE 2,291,341 nonY-wslauT-nrsrnmu'rma coNs'raUc-'noN Foa snoEs AND 'rmi mm William C. Burns, Santa Ana, Calif.Application June 2, 1941, Serial No. 396,309

(ci. afs-V11) Clalm8.

ents No. 1,728,780, dated September 17, 1929, and

No. 2,081,474, dated May 25, 1937.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a pad or shoeconstruction adapted to extend subjacent substantially the fullweightcarrying area of the foot and having protuberances or elevationswhich enforce a desired position of the bones in the foot so that thebody weight is caused to be communicated more directly through the oscalcis and the astragalus to the tibia, without interference with thespring function of the metatarsal division of the foot.

Prior disclosed supports of the general character with which the subjectmatter of this invention is concerned have for the most part constitutedarch supports" which have provided a positive support lfor thelongitudinal arch of the foot, and I haveheretofore recognized that thisportion of the foot was not intended by nature nor structurally adaptedto function as a weightbearing portion, but ratherto communicate to theleg the body loads imposed at the so-called ball of the foot in walking,and the "arch" is formed to keep the cords, arteries and nerves alongthe sole of the foot from being compressed when the body weight issupported by the foot, and a large proportion of the body weight iscarried directly by the heel bone or os calcis. The pad structures setforth in the above issued patents were developed on a contemplation thatparticular portions of the foot could be caused to carry a greaterproportion of the body weight by providing pad portions of increasedheight or thickness under the positions at which the greater proportionof the weight should be borne. I have subsequently determined that thiscontemplation is in error, in that it failed to take into account theinvoluntary reactions of the wearer which resulted in a substantiallyuncontrollable tendency for that individual to relieve the pressureresulting from the weight accentuation provided by the thickened padportion, causing the individual to attempt to shift his weight onto thevery portions of the foot at which the lightest load was intended bynature to be borne,

According to the present invention I provide a device oi' the characterdescribed in which a plurality of soft rubber or like pads or shouldermembers are disposed underneath a plurality of weight-bearing portionsofthe foot, such pads varying in height or thickness in such manner thatthe thinnest pad member is located at the position where the greatestproportion of weight is to be borne, and ythe other pad portions aremade of increased heights or thicknesses, wherefore this'involuntarytendency of the user to shift the body weight is utilized to cause suchshift to be directed onto the foot portions upon which the principalproportion of the body weight is desirably carried.

The accompanying drawing illustrates a pad structure embodying thepresent invention, and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is an inverted plan view of a pad member or inner-sole"incorporating this invention, and Figs. 2 through 6 are erect sectionalviews as taken on the corresponding numbered section lines in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the pad structure is indicated generallyat i,comprising a posterior or heel portion 2 and an anterior portion 3. Thelength of the pad member will be so established with reference to thelength of the foot of the user that the anterior portion 3 liessubjacent and immediately rearward of the metatarsalphalangal joints.This is indicated by the vertically extending dot-dash line V in Fig. 3,showing how the pad member underlies the ilith metatarsal joint. Thewidth of the pad member at its anterior portion will be slightly greaterthan the separation of the ilrst and ilfth metatarsal axes, indicated inFig. l by the dotted vlines respectively designated asv 1st metatarsalapproximate line and 5th metatarsal approximate line, so .that the padportions will be' located inwardly and outwardly beyond the respectiveaxes, and preferably at positions substantially conforming to the widthof the sole. The width of the posterior section of the pad willcomparably conform generally to the transverse dimensions of the foot inthis zone.

The construction of this invention will be provided with a plurality ofprotuberances or elevated members which cooperate to secure the desiredweight distribution. The numeral 4 indicates the elevated member uponwhich the principal proportion of the body weight is -to beconcentrated, and this member is located along the lateral side of thefoot at a position sub stantially below the cuboid and the forwardporvon the medial sid of .the foot, I provide a complementary elevatedmember 5v which isof materially greater height than the shoulder member4 and cooperates thq'ewith as shown more particularly in Fig. 6 to'cause a shift of the body weight onto the shoulder 4. I have identifiedthe weight concentration points on the abovementioned elevated souldermembers by encircled reference letters, as at A through F, and withparticular reference to Fig. 6, it will be seen that the pressureimposed at the position A will cause a supination o'f the foot, whichwill, taken with the natural reaction tendency of the wearer. impose agreater load upon the area F on the shoulder member 4. In general, theheight or thickness of the shoulder member 5 may be approximately two tofour times that of the shoulder 4.

The result of this shift of body weight to a position under the "cuboidarch causes the weight to be borne by the rather heavy muscle pad atthis position, and serves to elevate the longitudinal arch of the footand prevent a pronation of the foot which usually results from aweakened longitudinal arch condition. It also improves the foot comfortby relaxing the nerv cord running along the instep.

This construction provides a form of arch support in that the bodyweight is caused to be supported principally at the rearward portion ofthe longitudinal arch, under the "cuboid arch, but no weight is allowedagainst the main portion of the arch itself, wherefore no weakening ofthe longitudinal muscles of the arch will result. Conversely, the factthat the principal proportion of the body weight is carried onthe cuboidarch, and that the nerves, cords and arteries along the inside of thefoot are relaxed, the arch muscles are able to strengthen themselves asthe result ofuse, without postural discomfort to the wearer.

, I preferably provide additional elevated shoulder members at theanterior portion of the construction to further cooperate with theshoulder member 5 in the distribution of weight toward the area F on themember 4, and the heights of these additional shoulder members bear apreferred relation to the heights of the shoulder members 4 and 5 and toeach other. These additional shoulder members may comprise a member 'Ilocated on the medial side of the foot posteriorly of the firstmetatarsal joint, whose pressure concentration zone is indicated at B, ashoulder member 8 located posteriorly of the fifth metatarsal joint,whose pressure concentration zone is indicated at C, and a laterallyelongated anterior shoulder member 9 extending across the full anteriorportion 3 of the device, the pressure concentrations upon which areindicated by the transversely separated zones designated at D and E.

The vertical thicknesses or heights of the respective shoulder memberswill be made of decreasing order from A -through F for the optimumrealization of the advantages of the invention. The thickness of theshoulder member i (A) is thus the greatest and the thickness of theshoulder member 'I (B) will be next.. 'I'he above relation between thethickness of the shoulder members 5 and 4 is established in acorrespond- 4. wherefore the shoulder member 'I cooperates to shift aportion of. the body weight posteriorly toward the `shoulder member 4.The thickness of shoulder member 1 being greater than the thickness ofshoulder member 8 Acauses also a weight distribution towards 'theshoulder member 8, and owing to the fact that the thickness of shouldermember l is greater than that of the shoulder member 4 a proportionateshift of its weight towards shoulder member 4 is also obtained.

The outer or lateral edge of the shoulder member 8, at the lower sidethereof, may be thickened sharply downward, as at I'. when theconstruction is formed as a separate pad member, so as to cause the padmember to hook over the lateral edge of the insole shown at I and morepositively position the pad member within the shoe. This shoulderportion 0' will obviously be omitted if the structure of vthis inventionis formed integrally with the shoe itself.

As a result of the provision of shoulder members in the relation abovedescribed, substantially no part of the body weight is carried directlyby the longitudinal arch of the foot, and this arch is thereby permittedto act normally as nature intended, to protect the cords, arteries, andnerves at the underside of the arch.

The anterior or metatarsal arch shoulder member 9 is preferably made ofdecreasing thickness from the lateral to the medial portions thereof,the thickness at the zone D, subjacent the axis of the fifth metatarsal,being preferably less than that at the zone C in the shoulder member 8,and the thickness at the zone E, subjacent the axis of the firstmetatarsal, being proportionately less than the thickness at the zoneing fashion between the shoulder members I and D, the thickness at thezone E, however, being still greater than that at the zone F as definedby the shoulder member 4. The shoulder members 1 and l will extendtransversely beyond the respective axes of the fifth and firstmetatarsals and will be of slightly greater thickness at the respectivelaterally and mediaily spaced portions thereof, so that the resultantupward slant of the shoulder members at each side of the foot will keepthe foot from slipping transversely of! the shoulder structure.

The thickness of the pad member at the heel portion 2 is established ata minimum so that the wearers heel is locked back of the shouldermembers 4 and 5, and I preferably carry this minimal thickness forwardalong the central portion of the pad as indicated at Il to avoidcompression of the arterial and nerve conduits of the foot, and thiszone is preferably provided with perforations as indicated at Il tofacilitate the complete relaxation of the sole of the foot into thiszone. Preferably, this central portion is thinned down under the centralportion of the heel and between the shoulders 4 and l, as indicatedgenerally by shading at Ila, to impart the maximum comfort to the wearerand protect such conduits to a maximum.

With more specific reference to the actual shape of the individualshoulder members 4 through 9, it may be said that the interior marginallimits of the shoulder member 4 may be quite abruptly skived toward thethinnest portions of the pad member, as indicated by the shading in Fig.l, and the superficial area of this shoulder member may be maderelatively flat, so that the member is of substantially uniformthickness at all portions. With reference to the Shoulder member 5, thismember 4is preferably of posed thereupon by the wearer.

spenen the lateral edge thereof, taperingv wearer will have little or notendency to carry Y his weight on this portion when he walks or standserect. The shoulder members 'l and 8 are of greatest thickness at therespective medial and lateral edges -thereof (it being appreciated thatthe expressions medial and lateral are employed in this description inreference to the edges of the pad .structure which underlie therespective medial and latera edges of the foot) and are tapered inwardtherefrom. This taper will preferably be slightly concave. so that ahollow will be formed and fifth metatarsals to cause a positioning ofthe foot with respect to such shoulder members. The lateral edge l" ofthe shoulder member l will preferably Vbe made rather thicky to preventany tendency for the foot to ride up along the inclined surface of theshoulder member and over the edge thereof. Furthermore, the shouldermember 8 is caused to taper posteriorly and inward to a more markeddegree than its taper anteriorly toward the zone D. The member Q may beskived off quite abruptly at its anterior and posterior edges with agradual taper laterally from the zone D to the zone E at which point theminimum thickness is provided, beneath the first metatarsal axis. Theforward edge 3 of the pad is caused to fold abruptly over the forwardedge of the shoulder member 9 so that the toes -ancl the sole portionsubjacent the metatarsal joints will hook over the anterior end of thepad member in the production of a modied grip upon the shoe, which' hasbeen found to contribute materially to the comfort of the pad duringwalking movements.

With specific reference to the materials with which the pad structuremay be formed, I may employ a medium soft rubber or even leather tobuild up the thickness of the shoulder members, the shoulder membersbeing attached primarily to an upper leather or the like layer I2 corredsponding to the conventional inner-sole, and

the lower surface I3 of the pad member may comprise a comparatively thinlayer of leather or the like which functions to smooth out the abruptchanges in the pad thicknesses and to enclose the structure. of thevarious shoulder members are delineated as though the inner-sole layerl2 were disposed substantially in a plane. In Figs. 2 through 6 I havemore` properly illustrated the shape and disposition of the respectiveshoulder `members with reference to the position adopted thereby withina shoe in response to the pressure im- It will be appreciated that thedevice may be preformed to have the shape ultimatelyadopted after use,al

though this is not essential. It will further be appreciated that therespective shoulder members may readily be incorporated in the shoe lastitself rather than in a separable inner-sole type of pad member, ifdesired, without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention.In the subjoined claims, therefore, I have defined the invention interms of a plurality of shoulder members provided at the innerweight-,bearing surface of a shoe structure in contemplation of integralor separable structures cooperating with a shoe structure in theattainment of the desired features of this invention.

I claim: Y 1 l. A weight-distrilnxtingv construction for use in a shoeat the inner weight-bearing surface thereof, which comprises: aplurality of spaced elevated shoulder members adapted to underlie thesole of the foot of the wearer of the shoeone' of said shoulder membersbeing located at a position such as to be subiacent the cubpid arch ofthe foot, and each of the` remainder of `said under the respective firstplurality of shoulder members being located in spaced relation to saidone shoulder member, and of materially greater vertical thickness thansaid one shoulder member. l

2. A weight-distributing construction for use in a`shoe at the innerweight-bearing surface thereof, which comprises: a plurality of spacedelevated shoulder members adapted to underlie the sole of the foot ofthe wearer of the shoe, one of said shoulder members being located at aposition such as to be subiacent the cuboid arch of Ythe foot; a secondshoulder member being located in laterally spaced relation to said oneshoulder member and of materially greater vertical thickness than saidone shoulder member;` and 'a third shoulder member located at a positionsuch Yas to be subjacent and slightly posterior of the firstmetatarsal-phalangal joint of the foot, said third shoulder member beingof materially greater vertical thickness than said one shoulder memberand of less vertical thickness d than said second shoulder member.v

3. A weight-distributing construction for use in a shoe at the innerweight-bearing surface thereof, which comprises: a plurality of spacedelevated shoulder members adapted to underlie the sole of the foot ofthe wearer of the shoe, one

of said shoulder members being located at a position such as to besubjacent the cuboid arch of the foot; a second shoulder member beinglocated in laterally spaced relation to said one shoulder member and ofmaterially greater vertical thickness than said one shoulder member; athird shoulder member located at a position such as to be subjacent andslightly posterior of In Fig. 1 the elevations the firstmetatarsal-phalangal joint of the foot. and a fourth shoulder memberspaced laterally from said third shoulder member and at a position suchas to be subjacent and slightly posterior of the fifthmetatarsal-phalangal joint of the foot, said third shoulder means beingof a vertical thickness materially greater than that of said oneshoulder member and less than that of said second shoulder member, andsaid fourth shoulder member being of a verticalfthickness less than thatof said third shoulder member and greater than that of said one shouldermember. y

4. A weight-distributing construction for use in a shoe at the innerweight-bearing surface thereof, which comprises: a plurality of spacedelevated shoulder members positioned to underlie the sole of the foot ofthe wearer of the shoe, one of said shoulder members being located at aposition along the medial edge of such sole such as to be subjacent thecuboidarch of the foot, the second of said shoulder members beinglocated in laterally spaced relation to said one shoulder member tounderlie the lateral edge of such sole, a third shoulder member locatedat the medial edge of such sole in such position as to underlie thefirst metatarsal-phalangal joint of the foot' but slightly posteriorlythereof, a fourth shoulder member spaced laterally from said thirdshoulder member and at a position -such as to be subjacent and slightlyposterior .Y of the fifth metatarsal-phalangal joint of the thickness-of said metatarsal shoulder member 10 being less than that of saidfourth shoulder member, and the vertical thickness of said one shouldermember beingless than the vertical thickness of said yrnetatarsalshoulder member.

5. The construction as set forth in claim 4, the vertical thickness ofsaid metatarsal shoulder member being decreased from adjacent thelateralend thereof toward the medialv end thereof.

yWILLIAM C. BURNS.

